No More 'Sweet Whirled'?

The Dave Matthews Band, a rock group so "green" it has its own flavor of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, could face $70,000 in fines after one of its tour bus drivers allegedly dumped a tankful of human waste onto passengers on a sightseeing boat earlier this month.

After a two-week investigation into an incident that prompted outrage from Chicago's mayor and snickering from late-night television hosts, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Tuesday accused the band and driver Stefan A. Whol of illegally dumping foul-smelling muck into the Chicago River.

About two-thirds of the 120 passengers on the upper deck of Chicago's Little Lady were doused with a brownish-yellow liquid as the tour boat crossed under the Kinzie Street bridge during an Aug. 8 architectural sightseeing cruise.

Some of the passengers suffered nausea and vomiting after the waste cascaded into their eyes and mouths and soaked their hair and clothing.

Witnesses told authorities that the deluge of waste came from a long black tour bus crossing the grated bridge. Several managed to spy an Oregon license plate number. Surveillance cameras at neighborhood businesses helped Madigan's investigators and Chicago police detectives trace the bus to Whol, a Texas man who is identified in the complaint as one of five drivers for the Dave Matthews Band, authorities said.

Whol was driving to pick up a band member at a Michigan Avenue hotel when the bus crossed the bridge, according to the complaint. Later that evening, the band played another show in East Troy, Wis.

A band publicist issued a statement Tuesday night saying, "Our driver has stated that he was not involved in this incident. We reserve any judgment until we see the evidence."

Luxury coaches like the ones leased by the band are equipped with 80- to 100-gallon waste tanks that are emptied underneath the vehicle by pushing a toggle switch behind the driver's seat, according to the attorney general's complaint.

In addition to seeking fines for violations of state laws, Madigan said she is asking the court to order an evaluation of the band's waste disposal practices. State officials said most charter buses dump waste at licensed facilities.

In several interviews, Dave Matthews has said one reason his band contributes to environmental causes is to offset air pollution from its tour buses.

Ben and Jerry's named its One Sweet Whirled flavor (caramel and coffee ice creams with marshmallow and caramel swirls and coffee-flavored fudge chips) after one of the band's songs. Half of the band's royalties from sales of the ice cream are donated to a coalition of environmental groups to combat global climate change. *